A poultry farmer in Kogi keeps 250 birds. Feeding them consumes 80 per cent of his costs. A crate of eggs sells for ₦6,200. He is still in business. Many of his colleagues are not. Across Niger, Kogi and Nasarawa States, the livestock and poultry sector is contracting. Feed prices are rising monthly. Day-old chicks are expensive. Market prices are stagnant. Farmers are cutting flocks, selling at losses or closing entirely.
Poultry was Nigeria’s fastest-growing livestock segment for a decade. It supplied eggs and meat to millions of households. It created jobs for young people in rural areas. It relied on two crops: maize and soya bean. Both are priced in naira. Both have been hit by inflation since the 2023 naira float and the petrol subsidy removal. Transport costs followed fuel prices up. Feed mills are concentrated in Kaduna, Ilorin and Ogun. Farmers outside those hubs pay freight premiums on every bag. The structure of the industry made it vulnerable. The macroeconomy delivered the shock.
The economics of a chicken
Feed is the highest single cost in poultry production. It accounts for 70 to 80 per cent of total expenses. That ratio is not unusual globally. What is unusual is the pace of price increases. In Niger State, dealers at Firduas Agrovet said a bag of layer feed sold for ₦7,500 to ₦8,000 a year ago. It now costs ₦15,000. Broiler feed rose from about ₦18,000 to ₦24,000. A broiler chick costs ₦2,200. A layer chick costs ₦3,500.
The purchasing power collapse is stark. ₦500,000 once supported 500 birds. It now covers about 100. Farmers who borrowed to expand are now servicing debt on flocks they cannot feed. Farmers who saved are watching their capital evaporate bag by bag.
Dare Olukaiyeja is a retired director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. He keeps 250 birds in Kogi. He said feeding alone swallows 80 per cent of his operational expenditure. A crate of eggs sells for about ₦6,200. The margin is thin or negative depending on the week.
Shola Adeyi manages 1,000 birds in Lokoja. He said feed prices rise by ₦2,000 to ₦3,000 per bag almost monthly. Starter feed costs ₦22,500. Finisher feed costs ₦22,000. Layer feed costs ₦16,000. Day-old chicks cost about ₦2,200 each. Eggs sell for ₦6,000 to ₦6,500 per crate. Broilers fetch ₦4,500 to ₦5,000 per kilogramme. “The prices barely cover production costs,” he said. He called for long-term subsidised or interest-free loans and effective market regulation.
He identified additional pressures. Electricity is unreliable. Heat stresses the birds. Mortality is high. Some operators have abandoned the business because they cannot afford alternative power sources.
Malik Ajayi rears broilers, cockerels and foreign turkeys. He recently bought three cartons of day-old chicks for ₦352,500. He blamed large-scale producers for some price fluctuations. He urged the government to introduce price regulation. He said some farmers sell birds cheaply to avoid prolonged feeding costs. Frozen poultry dealers also face high electricity and preservation expenses.
Mrs Oluwaseyi Fadaka keeps 40 Noiler birds. A bag of feed costs about ₦22,000. Her birds consume one regularly. “Rising feeding costs are eroding profits,” she said. She is exploring organic alternatives. She needs subsidised feed and affordable, quality inputs.
Bala Ibrahim is a poultry farmer in Minna. He said feed constitutes a significant proportion of production expenses. Chick prices fluctuate. Financial planning is difficult. Some operators have reduced flock sizes. Others are struggling to remain in business. “Poultry sales frequently fail to cover feeding, medication, labour, transportation and other production expenses,” he said.
The state government is responding. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Livestock, Jonathan Wasa, said the government plans to revive and upgrade the Tagwai feed mill. He said the initiative would improve local feed availability and reduce financial pressure on farmers. The ministry is collaborating with Niger Foods to supply raw materials. Feed transported from Kaduna and Ilorin is expensive because of transport and distribution costs. Local production would reduce dependence on external supplies. Niger has abundant raw materials for feed, Wasa said. The mill would strengthen the livestock value chain and create opportunities for farmers and input suppliers.
Musa Ibrahim is a poultry farmer in Lafia. He said feed accounts for about 70 per cent of production. “We are buying feed at exorbitant prices but selling at a loss because consumers cannot afford high prices,” he said. “Many of our members have closed their farms. If nothing is done urgently, poultry and livestock farming will collapse in the state.”
Mrs Sarah Audu farms livestock in Akwanga. She reduced her flock from 2,000 birds to 500. She urged the state and federal governments to provide subsidised feed ingredients and establish feed mills.
Alhaji Suleiman Danlami is a cattle fattener in Keffi. He decried poor animal prices despite rising production costs. “During festive periods we expect to make profit, but now even at Sallah and Christmas, prices are poor,” he said. “Transportation cost is high, feed is high, but market price is low.”
The farmers warned that without urgent interventions, more smallholders would abandon livestock farming. They urged governments to strengthen local feed ingredient production, establish feed mills and provide affordable financing.
The Kogi intervention
Kogi is implementing the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project. It is backed by the World Bank. The State Project Coordinator, Abdulkabir Otaru, said the project targets productivity, commercialisation and resilience across livestock value chains. It recently supported 500 women and youths across the 21 local government areas with poultry inputs and equipment. Beneficiaries received day-old chicks, feed, drugs, vaccines and ₦100,000 each for logistics support.
The Commissioner for Livestock Development, Dr Olufemi Bolarin, said the ministry is collaborating with L-PRES and stakeholders on sustainable solutions. Improved poultry breeds, including resilient, dual-purpose SASSO chickens, are being introduced to strengthen food security and farmers’ incomes.
Stakeholders called for subsidised maize and soya beans, local feed ingredient production and solar power support to reduce bird mortality.
Winners: Feed dealers, who pass on costs. Large-scale producers, who can absorb shocks and gain market share as smallholders exit. L-PRES and the World Bank, which gain visibility. Feed mill revivals, if they reduce costs. Importers of poultry products, who face less local competition. Losers: Smallholder farmers, who face losses and closure. Consumers, who pay more for eggs and meat. Workers on closed farms. Food security, which weakens as domestic supply falls. The states, which lose agricultural output and rural jobs. The naira, if imports rise to fill the gap.
Bottom Line
Feed is 80 per cent of the cost. Prices rise monthly. Eggs do not. Farmers are exiting. Kogi is intervening with World Bank support. Niger is reviving a feed mill. Nasarawa is waiting. The sector needs subsidised inputs, local feed mills and affordable credit. Without them, Nigeria will import the protein it could produce. The warning signs are clear. The response is partial. Timely intervention is not a preference. It is survival.